Steve McCarthy started Clear Creek Distillery in the 1980s because he wanted to find a alternative use for the fruit from his family's orchard. In Europe he had been acquainted with the delights of eau de vie made from Williams Pear and set out to recreate that using fruit grown in Pacific Northwest. He named his distillery after the creek that runs through his pear orchard in Parkdale, Oregon.

Steve uses small German pot stills rising into a short five plate column and techniques he learned in Alsace and Switzerland. He does not add colours or flavours to his brandies. These eau-de-vie are also the base for Clear Creek liqueurs. A brandy is made from the fermented fruit and then the fruit is macerated in that eau-de-vie and lightly sweetened.